This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Applications No. 2000-164904, filed Jun. 1, 2000; No. 2000-181950, filed Jun. 16, 2000; and No. 2000-207403, filed Jul. 7, 2000, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an operation input apparatus, particularly to an operation input apparatus for use in a computer, game machine, and other various machines.
A technique of attaching a sensor to an operator""s hand, detecting a hand shape and movement and generating a signal based on a detection result has heretofore been known.
For example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,252 is a technique of constituting a sensor by connecting a light source and optical sensor via an optical fiber or another light guide path and attaching a plurality of the sensors to a hand joint to detect a bend of the joint.
Moreover, disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 62437/1997 is a computer input apparatus as a substitute for a mouse, in which two acceleration sensors are disposed on the back of a gloved hand to detect a two-dimensional movement of the hand, and one strain gauge is disposed in a joint portion of a forefinger to detect a bending/stretching movement of the forefinger.
Furthermore, disclosed in a patent application by the present applicant (Jpn. Pat. Appln. No. 302236/1998) is an operation input apparatus in which a triaxial angular speed sensor and triaxial acceleration sensor for detecting a position and posture are disposed on the back of the hand, a uniaxial angular speed sensor for detecting a finger bending is disposed in an end of the forefinger, end of a middle finger, and an end and middle portion of a thumb, a hand shape is estimated from the position/posture of the hand back and the posture of the finger, and a command signal is generated based on the hand shape.
Additionally, in a patent application (Jpn. Pat. Appln. No. 307076/1999), the present inventor discloses a technique of sensing acceleration accompanying the movement with the sensor attached to an operator""s body, and correcting an influence of the acceleration with the movement, so that the operator even in a mobile unit such as a car can use the operation input apparatus.
In the method described in Jpn. Pat. Appln. No. 302236/1998 or 307076/1999 of the present inventor, the position and posture of the operator""s hand back are detected by the triaxial angular speed sensor and triaxial acceleration sensor, the finger posture is detected by the uniaxial angular speed sensor attached to the finger end, the hand shape is estimated based on this data, and the command signal is generated based on the hand shape. Compared with the method of disposing the sensor in the joint portion in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,252 and Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 62437/1997, the proposed method determines the sensor position without consideration of hand size. Therefore, there can be provided an operation input apparatus which can be easily utilized by anyone.
(First Problem)
However, the method described in Jpn. Pat. Appln. No. 302236/1998 or 307076/1999 has the following problems, related to application or situation:
1. The constitution in which one angular speed sensor is disposed on fingers other than the thumb and two angular sensors are disposed on the thumb is not suitable for accurately obtaining the hand shape. Therefore, a command precisely adapted for a subtle hand shape and movement cannot be generated.
2. Since the angular speed sensor is attached to the finger end, a distance between the hand back sensor and finger end sensor is large, and a wire from the finger end sensor sometimes obstructs movement.
3. When the sensor is attached to the finger middle portion, the finger movement is small, and a detection amount is therefore reduced.
4. Since many sensors are attached to the hand back, problems of sensor weight, attaching method, and the like have are encountered during attachment.
5. The gripping action can be detected, but the opening/closing movement of fingers cannot be detected. Therefore, a xe2x80x9cscissorsxe2x80x9d gesture cannot be recognized.
These problems occur due to the difference in user and operational purpose, thus the importance of the problems differ depending on the intended use.
(Second Problem)
Moreover, in Jpn. Pat. Appln. No. 302236/1998 or 307076/1999, an acceleration sensor is utilized for detecting the speed and position of a translatory movement of the operator""s hand back by integration with time. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish a hand stopped state from a hand constant-speed movement. There are problems in recognition of a hand gesture in the stopped state and a gesture for moving the hand at a substantially constant speed.
(Third Problem)
Furthermore, since a posture detection sensor for use in the present invention is attached to the body, the sensor needs to be as small and light as possible. However, a high-performance device generally intended to be mounted on an airplane, a ship, or a car, is large-sized, and cannot be attached to the body for use. Moreover, the device is very expensive.
In general, the angular speed sensor is intended to convert an angular speed momentum of a rotary movement around a detection axis, and even an inexpensive sensor has a satisfactory response property, sensitivity and performance in the present proposed purpose. However, because of a signal drift and noise component produced by temperature and environment, an error is caused by an integration processing for obtaining an angle.
Moreover, since the acceleration sensor can measure a gravity direction during stop, there is little drift, and the sensor is basically and frequently used. However, in addition to the acceleration by gravity acceleration, a movement acceleration component by the translatory movement is synthesized. A separation processing is performed by a filtering processing to separate the components, but response properties are deteriorated by these processes.
Therefore, an aim is to use advantageous properties of these posture detection sensors in a harmonized manner and to construct a posture detection sensor which has satisfactory response properties and sensitivity and has little drift.
For the uniaxial angular speed sensor as the finger posture detection sensor in the method described in Jpn. Pat. Appln. Nos. 302236/1998 and 307076/1999, since there is no reference information to refer to, a finger bend angle reset or overflow processing is performed in accordance with a conscious or unconscious hand open/close movement and an angular speed of the movement. However, when a slow movement is continued, errors are accumulated, and a conscious reset operation is necessary. In order to detect a movement for operation input with a fingertip, the bend angle does not require a high precision, but a certain degree of precision is sometimes required during a substantial stop state.
Moreover, in a method disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 21650/1997, there is a problem in that the method cannot be used without guaranteeing rotation around an axis horizontally crossing at right angles to an advancing direction axis. That is, the method cannot be used if movement around the advancing direction axis is added.
(First Object)
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an operation input apparatus which can appropriately solve the aforementioned problems in accordance with various operators and purposes.
(Second Object)
Moreover, another object of the present invention is to provide an operation input apparatus which can accurately recognize the spacial position, posture and movement of an operator""s hand.
(Third Object)
Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide a posture detection apparatus and operation input apparatus in which a detection output error can be accurately corrected in uniaxial rotation posture detection in three axes.
In order to achieve the aforementioned first object, according to the present invention, there is provided an operation input apparatus comprising: a posture sensor attached to a finger of a hand; and a command generator for generating a command based on an output of the posture sensor. The posture sensor is attached to all of first, second, and third link portions of the finger in at least one finger.
Moreover, according to the present invention, there is provided an operation input apparatus comprising: a posture sensor attached to a finger of a hand; and a command generator for generating a command based on an output of the posture sensor. The posture sensor is attached to only one of the first and second link portions of the finger in at least one finger of the hand, and is not attached to a third link portion of the finger.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided an operation input apparatus comprising: a posture sensor attached to a finger of a hand; and a command generator for generating a command based on an output of the posture sensor. The posture sensor is attached to only one of second and third link portions of the finger in at least one finger of the hand, and the posture sensor is attached to the first link portion of the finger.
Additionally, according to the present invention, there is provided an operation input apparatus comprising: a posture sensor attached to a finger of a hand; and a command generator for generating a command based on an output of the posture sensor. The posture sensor detects a posture in two axes different in direction from each other, and the operation input apparatus detects a movement for bending the finger and a movement for spreading out the finger based on an output of the posture sensor.
Moreover, according to the present invention, there is provided an operation input apparatus comprising: a first posture sensor attached to a finger of a hand; a second posture sensor attached to a back of the hand; a third sensor, attached to a wrist, for detecting a movement or a posture of the hand; and a command generator for generating a command based on outputs from the first and second posture sensors and an output from the third sensor.
In order to achieve the aforementioned second object, according to the present invention, there is provided a movement detection apparatus for using at least one of an acceleration sensor and an angular speed sensor to detect a movement of an object, the apparatus comprising: image pickup means for taking an image of an environment; comparison means for comparing the images of different time points taken by the image pickup means with one another; and acquirement means for obtaining movement information of the object based on a comparison result of the comparison means.
Moreover, according to the present invention, there is provided an operation input apparatus comprising: hand back detection means, attached to a back of an operator""s hand, for detecting at least one of acceleration or angular speed applied to the hand; and operation input analysis means for utilizing a detection result of the hand back detection means to generate a command in a predetermined system. The operation input apparatus further comprises: image pickup means for taking an image of an environment; comparison means for comparing the images of different time points taken by the image pickup means with one another; and acquirement means for obtaining movement information of the hand based on a comparison result of the comparison means.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided an operation input apparatus comprising: hand back detection means, attached to a back of a hand of an operator, for detecting a movement or a posture of the operator""s hand back; finger posture detection means, attached to a finger of the operator, for detecting the posture of the operator""s finger; hand shape estimation means for obtaining a shape of the whole hand of the operator based on outputs of the hand back detection means and the finger posture detection means; and operation input analysis means for using the output of the hand shape estimation means to generate a predetermined command. The operation input apparatus further comprises: image pickup means for taking an image of an environment; comparison means for comparing the images of different time points taken by the image pickup means; and acquirement means for obtaining movement information of the hand based on a comparison result of the comparison means.
Additionally, in order to achieve the aforementioned third object, according to the present invention, there is provided a posture detection apparatus for detecting a posture of an object, comprising: posture detection means able to detect the posture around an axis extending in a predetermined direction; first detection means able to detect an acceleration of a first direction different from the predetermined direction; second detection means able to detect the acceleration of a second direction different from the predetermined direction and the first direction; and correction means for using an output of the first detection means and the output of the second detection means to correct the output of the posture detection means.
Moreover, according to the present invention, there is provided an operation input apparatus for using a posture sensor for detecting a posture around an axis of a predetermined direction to detect a hand shape, and generating a command based on a detection result, the apparatus comprising: first detection means able to detect an acceleration of a first direction different from the predetermined direction; second detection means able to detect the acceleration of a second direction different from the predetermined direction and the first direction; and correction means for using an output of the first detection means and the output of the second detection means to correct the output of the posture sensor.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.